A fully detailed claim must be submitted within 84 days, or the claim notice lapses.
1. Structural Philosophy: From Contract to Management Manual
Which specific contract book (, Yellow , or Silver ) are you primarily utilizing?
For practical guidance on implementing these contracts, consulting a dedicated 2017 Guidebook is highly recommended.
Engineer’s (or Employer’s Representative) Role and Decisions
Dispute Avoidance and Resolution
In certain civil law jurisdictions (e.g., the Middle East), strict time-bars can conflict with mandatory statutory provisions regarding good faith or unjust enrichment. Ensure your Particular Conditions navigate these regional legal nuances effectively. Conclusion
A good guide always has a chapter on "Incompatibility with Civil Law Jurisdictions." For example, FIDIC 2017’s reliance on the Engineer as a certifier may violate the mandatory rules of Qatar or Saudi Arabia regarding government approvals. Your guide will tell you to add a special provision stating that the Engineer’s determinations are "advisory only" where required by law.
To mitigate the harshness of this rule, Sub-Clause 20.2.5 grants the Engineer (or the Employer's Representative in the Silver Book) the authority to waive the time bar if it is deemed just and equitable, taking into account circumstances like prior knowledge or lack of prejudice to the other party. 3. Dispute Avoidance and Resolution: The DAAB Mechanism
If you are currently preparing or managing a contract under the FIDIC 2017 Suite, please let me know:
If the Engineer fails to give a notice of time-bar within 14 days of receiving a claim, the Notice of Claim is deemed valid for the purpose of investigation (though it can still be challenged later).